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Dream Doctor
Overview Background Information From the Circle of Thorns background story: "In 1933, when children from poor neighborhoods started disappearing from their homes in the middle of the night, police and heroes alike were entirely baffled. There were no signs of forced entry, no clues at all. It wasn’t until the new hero known as the Dream Doctor started on the case that the true nature of the Circle of Thorns became public knowledge. A master of sorcery himself, the Dream Doctor recognized the hand of black magic in the kidnappings and traced the mystic trail back to the private club used by the Circle for its meetings. At midnight on the anniversary of the Circle’s founding, The Dream Doctor burst in upon the foul cultists just as they prepared to sacrifice the poor children. As preternatural night engulfed the ritual chamber, the hero moved among them, his mystic blasts and spirit allies smashing through the cultists and freeing the children before Baron Zoria and his cronies knew what had happened. While the Circle’s highest-ranking members escaped, The Dream Doctor managed to capture most of the rest of the cult and bring them to justice. That night in 1933 was the end of the Circle of Thorns' existence as a public organization. Baron Zoria and his followers literally fled into the underground, allegedly taking up quarters in the dank and dangerous ruins of Oranbega. Their first order of business was taking vengeance upon the man who had ruined them: The Dream Doctor. Knowing full well what would happen to him, the Doctor gathered about him a group of civic-minded magicians, occultists, and scholars to help protect the city against future threats from the Circle of Thorns. He called this group the Midnight Squad, and the organization persists to this day as one of the premiere superhero organizations in Paragon City. Over the next few decades, the Circle of Thorns and the Midnight Squad continued to skirmish back and forth. Unfortunately, since only the Circle knew how to enter the lost city of Oranbega, they always had a safe and secure base to retreat in when matters grew desperate. Try as they might, the Midnight Squad could not crack the mystery of the sunken city. By the 1990’s the Circle of Thorns seemed to have dwindled to a mere shadow of its former might. Except for the occasional museum theft or kidnapped antiquarian, the villains seldom seemed to rise from their chthonic chambers." Like many other heroes, the Dream Doctor took a temporary leave of absence from Paragon City during World War II. Although the Midnight Squad was the Dream Doctor's primary team, it was as member of the Freedom Phalanx that the Dream Doctor helped repel a 1941 Axis attack on Paragon City. Soon after, the Dream Doctor and the rest of the Freedom Phalanx traveled to Europe to join forces with England's Dawn Patrol. The Dream Doctor remained active throughout World War II, eventually becoming the leader of the 1st Hero Brigade's North African striketeam, the Sand Kings. The group was composed entirely of "street level" heroes and vigilantes, all from Paragon City. They relied on the Dream Doctor's mental powers to make sudden, covert strikes against Axis forces. In this way, they became a model for how superheroes could be most effective in modern warfare. Memoirs Why I Left and Why You Must Stay Hopefully, when you read this, my name is not forgotten. I don't know why that's so important to me. I guess after all I've seen, a part of me is still human. I wonder if the same can be said for my counterpart, Rularuu. As I used the blade, I shaved off a piece of myself. I am not the same man anymore. I still work among you - looking for answers. But I've also begun searching in the dreamspace for a way to protect you, and the rest of the world, from a fate that grows closer with each passing day. Something is coming and I must find out what it is before it's too late. I have never been afraid to ask for help. If you remember anything about me, please remember that. But this...this is something I must do on my own. I'm going to try and save the world... again. But by all means, don't let that stop you from trying to save it first. Where is he now? Can you ever really kill a dream? The Dream Doctor will always be alive and well in the hearts and minds of the Midnight Squad. At last report however, he was still in dreamspace seeking ways to prevent the Circle of Thorns from ascending to ultimate power.